Sam Trammell Shares Secrets From The ‘True Blood’ Set & Season Finale

from Access Hollywood

It’s been a rough couple of months for “True Blood’s” shape-shifting bar owner Sam Merlotte, played by actor Sam Trammell.

His past has come back to haunt him in the form of Maryann, a maenad, who has almost all of Bon Temps in a hedonistic, black-eyed daze chasing after the flannel-shirted bar owner in between their own heady carnal indulgences and rampant town vandalism.

But while just a few weeks ago it seemed like Sam was a goner with Maryann’s faithful having trapped him in a jail, and later, a restaurant cooler, the Stackhouse family returned to their little Louisiana town and Jason, fresh from breaking his anti-vampire cult haze, banded together with Detective Andy Bellefleur to save their floppy-haired buddy from ultimate destruction.

As the show heads into its Season 2 finale this Sunday, Sam’s life appears to be on the line again, with Maryann hell-bent on sacrificing the town good guy.

So what’s it been like for the real-life Sam to play a character whose fate isn’t so certain?

Access Hollywood caught up with the star on the eve of Sunday’s season finale (which airs at 9 PM on HBO) to find out.

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True Blood Fan Art by J Saw

Many of these artists sell their work and or sell prints of their items, click on the link below to see their other works and how to contact them ...


Godric and Eric by ~J-saw on deviantART

'True Blood': 10 Favorite Moments from Season 2

Ken at EW does a slide show of his favorite moments HERE

HBO's vamp-tastic show wraps up its sophomore year this Sunday; our resident Bill-Sookie-Eric expert picks the bloody best

You guys tell me yours and I'll make us our own favorite moments of Season 2 slide show !

True Blood Season 3 = Club Dead

Medieval Bookworm reviews Club Dead -if you haven't read it yet, you better get going and before they start announcing the casting of Alcide Herveaux and Debbie Pelt and filming at Josephine's and you have no idea what or who they are talking about !

This is book 3 of the Southern Vampire Mysteries. For the first of the series, check out my review of Dead Until Dark.

Sookie’s vampire boyfriend Bill has a secret. He’s been spending all his time hunched over the computer and lately doesn’t even pay Sookie attention when she gets home from work. Sookie is even more confused and upset when Bill tells her that he’s going away for a while, to Seattle, which she automatically knows is a lie. When Eric approaches her a few days later and tells her that Bill’s been kidnapped, Sookie doesn’t know what to think, but she goes along to save him, teaming up with a surprisingly attractive werewolf along the way, at a creepy club the likes of which she’d happily never see again.

It seems to be about the third book of an urban fantasy series that everything clicks for me and I just want more. That is definitely the case here. All of a sudden, I really just want more Sookie. I loved her voice in this novel; it felt very distinctive and southern and perfectly pitched to what was going on. I could completely sympathize with all of her money woes, her relationship woes, and even her physical pain (luckily I’ve never been beaten up, so I can’t empathize, but I felt so sorry for her). I felt like she was my friend and I wanted to make her happier.

Something I really like about this series is that the relationships are not infalliable. I could sense in the last book that Bill and Sookie weren’t necessarily going to stay together, and while she was certainly hurting for it, I think it takes the story in a much more interesting direction if she’s not tied to one particular person (or vampire). Bill has proved the dangers of falling in love with a vampire and part of me wonders where Sookie is going to go next.

http://chikune.com/blog/?p=1456

TRUE BLOOD - Bites from the Cast

From Fangoria

It’s a long night on the set of TRUE BLOOD, which marks its season finale this Sunday on HBO. This evening, a mob of angry Texas vampires is squaring off against a cult of anti-vamp Fellowship of the Sun humans in a church. Despite the conflict for the camera, the cast and crew seem like they couldn’t be happier.

It’s a personally non-violent night for psychic heroine Sookie Stackhouse. Actress Anna Paquin doesn’t mind, but says she wouldn’t be opposed to having to mix it up for the camera, either. “On this show, I get beat up all the time. I mean, I’ve always been really active and I’ve done a decent amount of that [physical action] before. Not a lot, but that’s fun to me. I love that stuff.”

Paquin is likewise pleased about TRUE BLOOD’s following. “You never really know how people are going to react, but even just from people who enjoyed the books and were fanatical about that, there was a pretty good indication that people might be pretty into the show and they were, and that was awesome.”

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'True Blood''s Kwanten to star in 'Griff'

Ryan Kwanten, star of HBO's "True Blood," will act the superhero in "Griff The Invisible," a comedy romance by first-time Australian filmmaker Leon Ford.

Kwanten and Australian actress Maeve Dermody star as Griff and Melody, two ordinary people who need to save each other from their own eccentricities, while also saving the planet.

The film is produced by Nicole O'Donohue of Green Park Pictures and executive produced by leading Oz-based producers Jan Chapman and Scott Meek.

Transmission will release the picture in Australia and New Zealand, while international sales in other territories are handled by Hong Kong- and Amsterdam-based Fortissimo Films.

Production gets underway in Sydney next month in the hands of writer-director-actor Ford, a former TV director who has won awards for shorts "Katoomba" and "The Mechanicals."

"Leon’s script is so fresh and different, it appealed to us immediately," said Fortissimo's Chris Paton.

Dermody can be seen in Rachel Ward’s "Beautiful Kate," which is screening in Toronto this week.

True Blood Music Video of the Day: Pretty Good Year by Tori Amos

Pretty Good Year by Tori Amos LYRICS
Thanks, PrettyBurn83

Alana Ball on Season 3 from TV Squad

I'm always prepared to be shocked and awed every episode, and I am. Can you tell us anything about season three?

Well, the book is out there, so I'm not giving anything away when I say that we'll meet the Vampire King of Mississippi, Russell Edgington. And we'll encounter werewolves for the first time in the flesh; we've heard about them, but we'll meet them. I'm very excited about the character of Debbie Pelt. She's bad news.

Since I haven't read the books, who is that?

Debbie Pelt is the ex-girlfriend of a guy who's helping Sookie try to find Bill, and she is just hard ass, white trash bitch on wheels. She's so much fun. But there are other great characters, too. Everybody is struggling with identity in season three – What am I? Who am I? What is my life? Is it what I want it to be? How do I make it what I want it to be? What are my real values? And some people are like, "Am I human? I always thought I was, but maybe I was wrong." In one particular case, its like, "Yes, honey, you were wrong."

Is that Sookie? Is she part faerie? Can you tell me that?

I can tell you that Sookie is not 100 percent human. She is now aware of that.

After the white-light thing with Maryann.

Yes. She doesn't know what she is, but she knows that it's not totally human.

And people just love the story line with Sam and Andy and Jason. They're like, "Oh, they need their own spin- off show. Just put them on the road." Are Sam and Andy related at all?

They are not related; however, Andy is related to somebody in the show. He doesn't know it, but he'll be shocked when he finds out who it is.

Andy seems to be immune to Maryann's spells. Can you tell us why?

I would say he's been immune up until this point.

Ok. And Godric, is he really dead?

He is really dead.

That was such a tender scene at the end of "I Will Rise Up" between Godric and Eric and Sookie.

Yes, I loved that scene. However, Godric and Eric have a thousand years of flashback territory to be mined.

People haven't really been liking the Maryann storyline. What's your reaction to that?

I'm baffled because I think she's a fantastic character and a fantastic actress. I also know a lot of people who really love her. I think people are impatient, you know what I mean? When her story pays off, it is really, really gratifying.

Will she be in season three?

Maryann is not going to be in season three.

Alan Ball of True Blood: The TV Squad Interview - full transcript

Here's the full transcript of the interview I conducted with True Blood creator Alan Ball (comments can be left under the edited version):

I asked my TV Squad readers what they wanted me to ask you, and one of their main questions involves the books. Some feel the show doesn't follow the books closely enough. Your thoughts on that?

I think a book and a television show are two different mediums. If I were to follow the books, it would be all about Sookie, because Sookie narrates the story, and the other characters would rarely even show up. Jason would come into the bar and hug her in an attempt to make people think he loves his sister so he can pick somebody up. Tara wouldn't even have existed until this season, and she'd be white. Lafayette would be dead.

So all I can say to those people is, it's based on the books, but it's not a literal adaptation of the books. I'm doing what I think is the best way to turn that story into a television show. Also, if I just stuck to the books, there would be no surprises. You could go pick up the books anywhere and know exactly what was coming. So personally, I don't see any benefit of making a carbon copy of the books for TV.

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Ryan Kwanten takes fame with ‘a grain of salt’

From MSNBC

‘True Blood’ star says, ‘I have a long way to go with my acting’
HBO’s “True Blood” went from cult favorite to bona fide hit in its second season and one of the reasons had nothing to do with vampires.

Australian actor Ryan Kwanten has become one of the breakout stars on the series, playing Sookie Stackhouse’s brother Jason, a muscled-up Southern boy known more for his bedroom acrobatics than his cerebral skills.

In the last few episodes leading up to Sunday’s season finale, Jason’s gone from vampire hater to breaking out his brawn for good.

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Rutina Wesley hopes her 'True Blood' role is a stepping stone for other black actresses

From Los Angeles Times

HBO's "True Blood" has had more than its share of frightening moments this season, but the fan frenzy surrounding the cast of the vampire drama can also be a bit scary, as Rutina Wesley has discovered.

For instance, there was the devotee at the cast's Comic-Con autograph session who wanted to "bite" Wesley, who plays the sharp-tongued bartender Tara Thornton, in the neck for a picture. Or the fan from Louisville, Ky., who almost collapsed into a quivering heap when she finally encountered Wesley at the San Diego event.

Then there are all the "True Blood" fans who spot her in markets or on the street who call her Tara ("People think I'm her") and the Web message boards that she can't keep away from despite warnings: "My husband yells at me to stop reading them. It drives me crazy. People can be really mean -- they say the most vicious things."

But despite those unsettling vibes from "True Blood" loyalists, the classically trained Wesley, who studied at Juilliard, is on "top of the world," simultaneously enjoying artistic satisfaction and popularity.

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'True Blood''s Pam, Kristin Bauer, talks meeting her maker (and Alexander Skarsgard)

From EW

SPOILER ALERT! Pam will not get to avenge those great Betsey Johnson pumps she ruined tracking the creature that turned out to be meanad Maryann in Sunday night’s season finale of True Blood (HBO, 9 p.m. ET). Pam won’t even be in the episode because apparently, vampires don’t know how to close a bar for the night. It’s a wrong that can only be righted by Kristin Bauer, the scene-stealer who plays the loyal business partner, henchman, and hair stylist to Alexander Skarsgard’s Eric, receiving serious screen time in Season 3 — and, of course, doing a marathon interview with EW in which she answers most of the 96 questions our glamoured PopWatch readers recently submitted for her. Here, Bauer — who TV devotees might also remember as Man Hands on Seinfeld, the woman still nursing her 8-year-old at work on Desperate Housewives, the woman who sued her plastic surgeon for injecting his own ass fat into her lips on Boston Legal, Ray’s first kiss on Everybody Loves Raymond, and Jack’s ex-wife Allie on Just Shoot Me! — shares the stories of how Pam met Eric, how she met Skarsgard, and much, much more.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: It’s not fair that we won’t see Pam in the finale!
KRISTIN BAUER: It’s not fair! I’ve been asking fans to tell me what happens in the next books because I’ve been holding off on reading them ’cause I’m a fan of the show, too, and it’s more exciting if the scripts come and I don’t know what happens. I keep asking them, “What does Pam do next year?” I have no idea what Alan Ball is gonna do. None of us do. I talked to Alexander this week: “Do you have any idea about Season 3?” He said, “Nothing.”

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Alexander Skarsgard Is a Neck Man: Why the 'True Blood' hunk has TV's hottest set of fangs.

From Newsweek

The only Swedish import that ever stole my heart was IKEA. OK, maybe a Volvo. But then along came Alexander Skarsgard, the vampire bad boy with a true (though a non-beating) heart in HBO's True Blood. Skarsgard plays Eric Northman, the 1,000-year-old Viking sheriff of the undead, but he might as well be named Vampire McSteamy. Do we blame Anna Paquin for secretly fantasizing about him when the sun goes down? That smoldering face. That surfer-boy hair. Those chiseled cheekbones.

There are thousands, maybe millions, of women out there who are smitten with Alex (as I like to call him). He also charms the pants off men, like his costar Nelsan Ellis. "He's very humble, extremely talented, and so freaking Mount Olympus good-looking that sometimes I just want to be him," says Ellis, who plays another True Blood fan favorite, Lafayette, a gay, cross-dressing, short-order cook. "But, I want to say, 'Brother, please don't stand next to me.' " In that case, Alex, could you stand next to me instead?

Skargard's take on Eric is a little bit Gordon Gekko from Wall Street (he's so mean) mixed with a little Mr. Darcy (he's so misunderstood). His character lurked in the shadows in season one—"I was a glorified extra," he says—but he's quickly become a pivotal part of the show. Eric is the hunk trying to woo away Sookie (Paquin) from her vampiric main squeeze (Stephen Moyer), in a love triangle inspired by the Charlaine Harris books, that could get extra heated in the show's season finale this weekend. As True Blood has become HBO's biggest hit since The Sopranos, averaging about 5 million viewers a week, Skarsgard is the vampire of the hour. Paquin might have won the Golden Globe, but Skarsgard won over the blogosphere. "The real truth is, I was in Europe when season two started, and I had no idea how big the thing had gotten," Skarsgard says. "I landed in L.A., went to Comic-Con and it was absolutely crazy.

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Go Ask Dallas: In that creepy kitchen sink what's the man in the sink holding ?

Hey Dallas,

I love my "daily Dallas"! Okay here is a question.

In the last episode when Sookie walked into her kitchen after that uncomfortable scene with Jane Bodehouse, there was a man in her sink and he was playing with something..not sure what but i had some weird ideas. What the hell was that?

thanks Dallas!
flgirl

Hey flgirl,

I have to credit this answer to my friend and Blogtalk radio co- host the Twitter Sookie, @SookieBonTemps. On last week's show, she said that the man in the sink is playing with entrails and that they hanen't been able to tell if it's supposed to be human or animal. Yuck, but it was the best scary scene in all Season 2!

See for yourself....

True Blood stars and the movies: True Blood’s Sam Trammell Cast in The Details

I'm glad Screen Crave remembered to note that Sam Trammell was nominated for a Tony for 'Ahh Wilderness' ( that's a big thing!)

Yes to Alien vs. Predator: Requiem and if you'd like to know 40 other movies that True Blood stars have been in check out True Blood Goes to the Movies Here

Stars of the HBO series True Blood have been getting a lot of work recently. First Deborah Ann Woll, then Stephen Moyer, and now Sam Trammell has got a film gig. If you’re not an avid viewer of the show, Trammell’s character is a shape shifting bar owner. It sounds weird off the cuff, but in their world it’s normal. According to Empire, his next role will have him starring opposite Laura Linney, Tobey Maguire and Elizabeth Banks in the indie comedy The Details.

The story for The Details centers on modern relationships and “a couple’s disagreement over how to handle a raccoon infestation.” It is entirely too easy to make a joke about Sam transforming into an animal to help them out with this situation. Originally James McAvoy and Anna Friel were in talks to star in the film, but both actors dropped out. Trammell has apparently filled in for McAvoy’s role.

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Sam and Alien here

True Blood S2 Episode 11 Subtitles "Frenzy"

True Blood Season 2 Ep 11 Subtitles

Sam Trammell will be at EyeCon in Orlando Nov 13-15th

EyeCon is a fan-friendly multi-genre celebrity autograph convention for science fiction, horror, television and movie fans!

There will be Celebrity Autograph sessions, Celebrity Photo Op sessions, a Celebrity Banquet, a Cocktail Party with the stars, Panels, Games, Guitar Hero, Celebrity Breakfast auctions and so much more! There will always be something to do during the busy, fun-packed weekend!

Sam Trammell who plays the shapeshifter "Sam Merlotte", has been confirmed to appear at EyeCon! Nov 13-15th

http://www.eyeconfla.com/trueblood/index.html